Visiting Angels of Newburyport has been a leader in senior care since 2005. Our professional and dedicated caregivers proudly help older adults live comfortably, independently, and safely in their own homes.
We rely on text messaging to stay connected to our clients, their families, and our caregivers who visit them. Our texting platform of choice was Zipwhip, but we had to find a replacement when they shut down. Text Request stood out because they were the only Zipwhip recommended replacement that could move all our data. Text Request’s mass texting also offers more options than Zipwhip’s, and we love that we can send multiple message campaigns at a time.
The transition from Zipwhip to Text Request was quick and easy. It’s nice to be able to instantly reach our caregivers, whether they’re on a shift or at home with family. It’s way more convenient for them to respond to us when they can with a text, as opposed to sitting down and finding a time we can all get on the phone together. Our caregiver recruiter has even speed up their entire hiring process with templates for orientations and interviews.
Likewise, if we have a client who asks for additional resources, we can text them what they need as a link. This is way faster than having them dig through their email, especially since our clients are elderly. We’ll even text our clients to confirm onboarding, appointments, and which caregiver is visiting them.
By far, everyone’s favorite feature is MMS, or picture messaging. When a new caregiver takes a shift, we’ll text pictures of the client, and vice versa, so they know who to expect. Caregivers will also text families pictures of clients. For example, we have one family that our caregivers will regularly mass text pictures of their grandfather in our care, and his granddaughters will text pictures back.
Our families are so busy juggling our clients, none of them have time to sit on a phone call with us. By sending a text, we’re respecting their time and space, while still making a personal connection with them.
Texting helps us build relationships with our caregivers, clients, and their family members. It makes us feel less like a corporation and more like actual humans who can take care of the ones they love, which is exactly what we are.
